Draft-regulator.



:No. 718,125. PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903.

' S. F. HICKS.

DRAFT REGULATOR. APPLIOATIQN FILED JULY 12, 1901. no MODEL. I Hams-SHEET 1.

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PATENTED JAR 1.3, 1903.

s. F. HICKS} DRAFT REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1901.

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SAMUEL F. HICKS, OF CHILLICOTHE, ILLINOIS.

DRAFT-REG U LATO R.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,125, dated January 13, 1903.

Application filed July 12,1901.

T0 on whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, SAMUEL F. HICKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chillicothe, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Regulators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in draft-regulators for threshing and other engines. w

The object of my invention is to provide means for a device of this nature for setting it to operate at a given pressure.

A further object is to place the adjusting means wholly outside the device, where it can be manipulated at will to cause the desired operation at any given pressure of steam.

A still further object of my invention is to provide means for readilycleaning the device by reversing the steam-pressure through certain of its parts, all of'which will be understood in the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 i an elevation of a portionof a threshing-engine boiler with my arrangement attached thereto. Fig. 1 is a detail of the draft-regulator rod. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of my regulating device. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the same-not en-. tirely shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a portion of the device in part section. Fig. 5 is a longi: tudinal sectional View ofa strainer device. Fig. 6 is a face View of the strainer described.

The device consists first of a cylinder A, mounted at the sideof the boiler, as shown. The means for securing itis not shown; ;but this may be done in any good manner, as will be understood. At each end of the cylinder is a cylinder-head, that indicated by B serving as a guide for the rod 0 of the piston D. The guiding portion thereof consists of a projecting hollow boss B through which the piston-rod works back and forth. Said hollow boss is slotted at E and a cross-head F is placed therein, as shown in Fig. 4, said figure showing the device revolved a quarterturn from that shown in Fig. 2. A spring G surrounds the slotted boss B of the cylinder- $erial No. 68,124. (No model.)

head B, and an adjusting-ring H is screwed upon the threaded guide and arranged whereby when turned said ring will push the spring against the said cross-head. The piston and piston-rod are both bored longitudinally to receive a valve-stem I, one end of which is pointed and adapted to rest in a depression or socketJ in the cross-head described. The opposite end of this stem is likewise pointed and rests in a socket K in the valve L at the opposite end of the cylinder. This valve consists of a flat head having a stem L, as shown in Fig. 2. The cylinder-head B at the end of the cylinder opposite the end having the cylinder-head B has a boss 13*, whose outer end is threaded and provided With a cap M, into which is threaded-apipe N. The boss B has a pipe 0 at one side, the purpose of which will be explained presently. Into the cap B within the cylinder is screwed a valveseat I, into whose bore the valve-stem L is inserted. The seat for the valve is merely a knife-edged rim Q, against which the flat surface of the head of the valve rests, being held there bythe pressure of the spring G, before described. Itwill be seen that the bore of the piston-rod supports the red as well as the sockets in the valve L and cross-head F. The said piston-rod is slotted longitudinally at R beneath the slot E in the guide and the cap B, whereby the said cross-head can pass therethroughand allow said piston to travel without hindrance. The end of the piston-rod carries a connection S, to which is pivoted a bar T, which has connection with the draft-door of the furnace of the boiler by means of a notch in said bar, which rests upon the arm of said door, as shown in Fig. 1. A series of the notches is provided in the edge of the bar T, so that any adjustment maybe had to suit the particular apparatus upon which the regulator may be placed. Upon the end of the guide of the cap B is a plate U, to which a springV is attached, the opposite end of which is placed upon and held by a hook W onsaid bar T, as shown in Fig. 1. The connection of the spring with the plateU is such that the tension may be regulated to the desired degree.

As shown in Fig. 1, the device is designed to be in steam connection with the boiler whose draftdoor it is intended to operate.

This is done through a pipe W, valve X, and pipe N. The steam enters the boss 13 from said pipe N through a series of wire screens N. (Shown clearlyin Fig. 5.) Itis well known that rust scale and other substances accumulate on and in the pipes and other portions of steam systems, and these particles when carried into the valves and the working parts prevent the proper working thereof, and it has been shown that the failure of devices such as I am describing is often due to these substances getting beneath the valves. I have experienced much trouble and annoyance in this respect and have endeavored to overcome it by inserting the said screens N in the path of the ingoing steam, so that the rust and lime particles are totally excluded and are left in the pipe N. They cannot,

therefore, pass into thecylinder and become a means of cutting the metal when caught by the piston. Neither can they get beneath the valve, and thus prevent that member seating. WVhen lodged against the screens, these foreign bodies are carried away by closing the valve X, opening the valve (1, which forms an outlet from the pipe N, and also opening the valve 1) in the pipe 0, which admits steam from the pipe w to the boss 13 and against the inner surface of the screens N. The force of the steam will very quickly and thoroughly carry away any and all matter through said valve a. Besides keepingthecylinder clean by this means I provide the valveseat already described, which consists of the annular knife-edged flange or ring Q. Now it will be seen that it will be impossible for anything to lodge upon such a seat, and even though it should the pressure of the valve against it would cut and destroy it, due to the said seat. By providing such a valve-seat and the screens all chance of leaking steam would be avoided entirely.

The operation of the regulator is as follows: The valve X is opened to admit steam to the cylinder, which on entering passes under the valve L by forcing the same against the spring G, drives the piston before it, and closes the damper against the pull of the spring V. The damper is held shut by this means until the boiler-pressure falls to a point where the tension of the spring V will overcome it. The damper will then be raised and the piston returned to the starting-point. Now if it is desired to have the damper close at a given pressure the adjusting-ring H is turned on its thread to put such an amount of pressure upon the spring G as to hold the valve D shut until the pressure of steam at which the said damper is to close will just raise said valve and operate the piston. It will be thus seen that from the outside of the device any desired degree of spring tension may be had by merely setting the adjusting-ring as described. As before stated, the piston-rod is slotted so that it can move back and forth without hindrance by the cross-head which extends therethrongh. The opening in the piston for the stem 1 is just sufficient to admit the said stem, so that the steam-pressure behind said piston will not be permitted to escape in suflicient quantity to impair the utility of the apparatus. However, when the pressure is removed the spring V as it pushes the piston back will force the inclosed steam out around the piston and it will beunderstood that there will be no cushioning of the piston in its forward movement, since the air will freely pass through the slot in the boss B to the outer air, all of which will be readily understood. I do not wish or intend to confine myself to the exact construct-ion herein described and shown, as changes of various kinds may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim 1. In a draft-regulator, a cylinder having steam connection with the steam-supply, a piston therein arranged to be operated in one direction by the steam the rod thereof passing through one end of the cylinder, said rod having a longitudinal bore and slotted substantially as described, a valve in the end of the cylinder head opposite that through which the piston-rod passes, a valve-stem located in the bore of the piston-rod and bearing atone end against the said valve, the opposite end being held in a yielding manner and means for imposing a variable tension on said stem and the valve and normally keeping said valve seated for the purposes set forth.

2. A draft-regulator comprising a steamcylinder, a piston and its rod, said piston and rod both having a longitudinal bore, a valvestem in said bore, a valve at one end of the cylinder for admitting steam to said cylinder and against which the stem is seated, said piston also having a lateral slot, a spring-actuated cross-head in said slot capable of adj ustment for controlling the valve through the said valve-stem as set forth and arranged whereby steam entering the valve will operate to force the piston away from the valve to close the damper of the boiler.

3. In a draft-regulator, a cylinder for receivin g steam-pressure from the boiler whose damper is to be manipulated, a valve for inlet of steam to such cylinder, a piston Within the cylinder, its rod being bored out 1ongitndinally, a valve-stem loosely seated at one end in the valve and extending through the bore of the said piston-rod to the outside of the cylinder at one end, said piston-rod having a lateral slot, a cross head therein against which and in which the valve-stem rests, a spring bearing against the said crosshead and an adjustable pressure-ring for adjusting the tension of said spring and its pressure against the cross-head to transmit force through the valve stem to the valve within the cylinder, said spring and tension means being wholly away from the steam and outside of the cylinder as set forth and described.

4. In a draft-regulator, a cylinder having connection with the steam-supply, a steaminlet valve at one end, a pipe and passageway leading thereto for the steam-supply, a valve in the pipe for controlling the steam to such inlet-valve in the cylinder, a strainer in the passage for the purposes set forth, a pipe connected at one end into the passage between the strainer and the inlet-valve and connected at the other end into the steamsupply pipe between the controlling-valve and the source of steam-supply, an outletpipe between such controlling valve and the strainer and a valve in such outlet-pipe all being arranged whereby the steam can be passed through the strainer in either direction for the purposes set forth, a piston and its rod in the cylinder adapted to be moved in one direction only by the steam-pressure entered through the valve in the cylinder, the said piston-rod passing through the opposite end of the cylinder the same having a longitudinal slot therein and a transverse slot as described, a valve-stem in the bore, one end bearing against the inlet-valve, a cross-head within the slot of the piston-rod against which the free end of the valve-stem is adapted to rest, a tension device for exerting greater or less tension on the inlet-valve through the valve-stem, and a spring on the piston-rod for returning the piston to its starting position after the pressure of steam is relieved.

5. A draft-regulator comprising a cylinder A located on the boiler, an inlet-valve at one end thereof, a valve-stem Iadapted for closing the valve, the piston D within the cylinder, the piston-rod G, the latter two portions being bored to receive the valve-stem as described, there being a lateral slot R in the piston-rod, the cross-head F located in said slot, the same engaging the valve-stem at one end, the spring Gr bearing against the said cross-head and the adjusting-ring H for putting such spring under pressure for the purposes described, said piston being enabled to reciprocate without hindrance from the said valve-stem or cross-head, the stationary plate U secured on the cylinder, and the rod '1 attached to the damper and with which one end of the spring is also connected for the purposes set forth.

6. In a draft-regulator the combination with the cylinder, of a piston therein, the inlet-valve within the cylinder in the path of the live steam to be entered to such cylinder, said valve admitting the steam to the cylinder at irregular intervals substantially as and for the purposes described, a steam-pipe for entering the steam to the cylinder, a valve in said pipe for cutting off the steam, a strainer in the path of the steam to such cylinder, a blow-out valve between the said strainer and cut-off valve for the purposes described, a pipe also for live steam the same connected to communicate with the inlet to the cylinder behind the strainer, and a valve in said pipe all arranged whereby the foreign particles in the steam are caught at the strainer and prevented entering the cylinder, and afterward ejected through the blow-out valve by entering steam behind the strainer as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL F. HICKS.

Witnesses:

HARRY J. CRAMER, E. J. ABERSOL. 

